Yes, Sprint has turned on LTE in Houston, but no, you can’t use it yet

Sprint has started turning on its LTE service in the initial markets to get the service – of which Houston is one – but if you’ve got a device that can talk to the carrier’s version of the 4G network, you won’t be able to connect.

S4GRU.com is now able to confirm why new Sprint LTE device holders are unable to connect to live LTE sites in Waco, Dallas/Ft.Worth, Atlanta, Athens, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio. Sprint is intentionally blocking LTE access at this time. The reasons why they are doing this aren’t totally clear.

Currently, if you try to access Sprint’s LTE network, your phone will present you with a message that it’s “Reserved”, according to S4GU writer Robert Herron.

Sprint began selling LTE-capable phones earlier this month. You can buy an LG Viper today, and pre-order theHTC Evo 4G LTE on May 7.

Sprint spokesperson Mark Bonavia confirmed that Sprint is starting to enable its network in early markets, but indicated it’s not quite ready for action:

Sprint has announced that LTE will be deployed in six markets, including Houston, mid-year 2012. In order to meet that timeline, Sprint is rapidly deploying equipment at cell sites in all of those markets. Currently, LTE signal is not discoverable because sites are being optimized and integrated, so the customer would likely experience only intermittent service.

Ultimately, the service isn’t ready to our standards, the experience would be less than optimal, and obviously we want to give customers Sprint branded LTE when it’s ready and right.